Page 58 of Vicious Savage

“I haven’t had a chance to thank you,” Enzo says, turning to me. “For saving my sister. She told me what you did. And for saving us.”

“It was the right thing to do.”

“No,” he shakes his head. “People like us — people in our world — don’t care about doing the right thing. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

I shift in my seat, an uneasy tension forming between us. I hadn’t thought it was that obvious, even though I’ve limited my interactions with her.

“I’m not saying this to make you feel uncomfortable,” he hurries to add. “I just wanted you to know that I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for us, and I wouldn’t mind you for my sister.IfI’m reading the situation right and that’s what you want.”

“Your sister’s not interested.”

“I don’t think Luna evenknowswhat she wants. If you want her, you’ll have to make her want you.”

* * *

Coyin Castillo died almost broke.What remained were the scattered properties across Mexico that he had mortgaged to the hilt. He was, at the time of his death, effectively bankrupt. A cartel leader with no money was as good as dead even before he woke every morning; cartel members that don’t get paid don’t hang around for free.

This, I know, is a hard pill to swallow for the Castillo boys. They have to start over from scratch; it’s only a matter of time before the banks reclaim everything that’s theirs. I know they don’t want to be part of what their father established from everyone else’s hard earned money. They don’t want to be thugs, and they don’t know how to rule in this world. So I devise a plan. I run it past Caleph and Dante, get the go ahead and put my plan in motion. It’s up to them whether or not they accept.

Enzo tells me they have no desire to leave Mexico. This is where they’ve lived all their lives, and this is where they’ll stay.

“So what will you do?” I ask.

He shrugs, tells me they’ll work it out. Go back to the beginning. I tell him I have a proposition for him; he looks at me uncertainly until I start to outline my idea for him.

“And who will bankroll this venture?” he asks.

“None other than Nestor Gamboa.”

“The man is dead,” he reminds me, deadpan.

“But his money isn’t.”

I go on to tell him that Nestor forfeited any right he had to anything in our world the minute he decided to attack us. I had Pietro, Dante’s trusted security whizz and resident hacker, sink his teeth into Nestor’s offshore accounts. And there was plenty to write home about there. This is what we call the spoils of war. The dead businessman left behind a fortune and no one to claim it, so we seized it. And we’d put it to good use.

“We’ve been thinking of avocado farming,” I tell Enzo, who regards me with some skepticism. He must think I’m crazy. I know there’s a massive market for avocados in the US; my plan is not limited to Mexico, and I tell him so. “You and your brothers will run the business side of things; overseeing production, transport, export. I will supply the contacts in the US. It’s a lucrative industry, Enzo, and it’s only getting bigger.”

“And if it fails?” He’s hesitant. It’s a business venture and he’s using someone else’s money.

“It won’t.”

“What’s the catch?”

“There is no catch. All I ask is that you employ local farmers, you treat them well and you pay them their due. A third party will be conducting regular compliance audits.”

“You really think it will work?”

“I know it will. But I can’t do this unless you’re on board.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“This will be beneficial for all of us,” I tell him. “We’ve been thinking about it for a while, but it’s been on the back burner until we could find someone to run the venture. This is the perfect opportunity.”

“We don’t want any part of any shady or illegal dealings. We lived that with my father.”

I put my hand to my heart in faux horror as I tell him that’s not what we’re about. This is a legitimate business and it will stay as such. I watch as he turns to his siblings, then as he lowers his eyes to my outstretched hand and puts his palm in mine.

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